Improvement in railroad-chairs



UNITED., STATES v PATENT Dertien.

I RALEONARD, on LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT iN RAILRUAD-CHAIRS.

Specification forming part of Letters-Patent No. 34.307. dated February 4, 1862.

To all whom tmc/y concern:`

Be it known that I, IRA LEONARD, of Lowell, in the'county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Suspension--Chairs which are Used to Connect the Ends of Rails on Railroad-Tracks; and I do hereby declarev that the following. is a full, clear, and, exact 'description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part thereof.

Similar letterson cach of the several iigures refer-to like parts'.

Figure l'is a perspective view of a railway-track, showing the manner of attaching and using my improvement. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the chair as attached to the ends of two rails. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are cross-vertical sections of rail and chair.

'The objectot' my invention is to furnish a perfect connection of the ends of the rails,

so that the track shall be as strong at the' joints as at any other part, so that there shall be no hammering or battering down of the ends of the rails, so that there -shall be the same chance for the rails to expand by in.

crease-of temperature as in those. now used,

and, nally, so that it -shall be capable of4 chinery, so that it shall fit exactly to the sides and bottom of .the rail, as, seen in Fig. 3. Underneath the rail the plate is 'be-nt, downward ina U shape to the depth of two and a half or three inches, more or less. This forms a strengthening-rib sufficient `to ustain all Weight that may come upon it, ut not heavy enough to form a solid, on which the ends of the rails can be hammered or battered by the passing wheels, thus avoiding a very objectionable feature which exists in the commen chairs now in use. This U- sha'ped rib also serves another important purpose. In putting the chair upon the rails it allows the sides of the chair a chanceto yield or spread apart and thus accommodate itself to such .variation in the thickness of the railsv as they are liable to. necessary consideration in the easy application of the chair to therail, as it saves all fitting by cutting or filing. After the chair is in place the boltsi) D D Dare screwed up, and .thus bring the sides of theehair into close-fitting contact with the sides of the rail. The bolts D D D D pass through slots in the rail, which slots are long enough to allow for all expansion of the rails by heat.: On a hard rigid road-bed the nuts of the bolts D D D D are liable to loosen from'the jarring produced bythe 'rolling-stock, and to guard against such a contingency I have provided-'a wooden washer or cushion E, Figsl, 4, and 5l which will impart such elasticity as will almost entirely overcome this tendency. This I consider very important, as a great deal of labor and oversight is saved thereby.

l In Fig. 4 the Washer is introduced between the rail and the side of the chair, and is the form I prefer; but another Way of having the washeroutside of the chair is shown in'Fig.'5.

Besides thoistrain occasioned by down- Ward pressure or Weight upon the rail there is another, and that is a lateral pressure occasioned by the cars' goingswiftly througha curve. The formof my chair is such asto eectu'ally strengthen the joint against this pressure also, as those parts which fit around the bottom of the rail are formed int-0 a rib in the `proper position to resist 'all lateral pressure.

Having thus vdescribed my improvements, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secureby 'Letters Patent, is-

l. A rail-connecting' chair composed of a continuou-:. sheet of Wrought-iron bent into such-[a shape thatV it is enabled to embrace the base and the sides of the abutting ends o'f two rails, whilel it isrendered laterally elastic and vertically stili by means ot a hollowv rib or iin immediately beneath the e1nbracing jaws ot' said chair, all substantially as represented in the accompanying drawings.

2. In connection with my said improved rail-connecting chair, Vthe use of the wooden y cushion E, or the equivalent thereof, in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth. In witness whereof I have hereuntoset my signature this 21st day of October, A.l D. 1861.

IRA LEONARD. In presence of- 0. E. CUsniNG, t H. B. SMITH.

This elasticity is a very. 

